Recognizing Importance of Sustained United States Leadership to Accelerating Global Progress Against Maternal and Child Malnutrition

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, all of us in this Chamber probably grew up with a mother telling us to eat our vegetables. As a father myself, I have very strong memories of chasing several of my children around the house, trying to get healthy food into their mouths. That is because, as we know, a child's growth and development is severely impacted when they don't have proper nutrition.

Unfortunately, today, over 151 million children under the age of 5-- babies, really--suffer from chronic malnutrition. That is truly a shocking and disturbing number. Over the last three decades, there has been important progress to reduce chronic malnutrition around the world, but, clearly, much more must be done.

That is why I am proud to be here today to offer my support for this resolution, introduced by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), which calls for increased efforts to end maternal and child malnutrition.

The United States has always been a leader when it comes to addressing maternal and child malnutrition. We must continue our leadership role in this important endeavor.

The USAID multi-sectoral nutrition strategy is an important effort to ensure that nutrition interventions are effective in reaching the most vulnerable populations.

I want to thank the chairman, and I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Marshall and McGovern, for leading this important resolution and bringing this to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank organizations like Bread for the World, the Eleanor Crook Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, and many others around the world. These are the people who implement and advocate for these critical nutrition interventions.

As the world grapples with the impact of COVID-19, it is more important than ever that we ramp up our fight to end chronic malnutrition.

I have been proud to support this critical work, including advocating for nutrition programs in annual appropriations bills. I look forward to continuing to support these efforts.

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